Parent Companies

Sawtooth Bridge Technology

Print This Page

Sawtooth Bridge Technology

Most drivers have experienced that familiar loud thud as tyres drive over a bridge joint, A-one+ found a solution by using ground breaking, UK first technology on the bridge joints, to make them quieter and smoother for road users.

The River Trent bridge sits between junctions 2 and 3 of the M180 near Beltoft and has expansion joints across both carriageways to help the bridge move under the stress and strain of traffic and changes in temperature.

The previous joints were noisy to drive over and needed regular maintenance, causing continuous disruption. We have now replaced them with innovative ‘sawtooth’ joints which spreads the noise more evenly.

The unique sawtooth joint reduces the noise created by the angle at which a vehicle’s tyre crosses the open-air gap. Instead the tyre crosses the ‘teeth’ over a greater area, causing less noise.

Another first for this scheme was using a contraflow traffic management system avoiding disruptive road closures keeping the key east-west route open for residents and road users.

In addition, solar panels were used to charge the batteries for our site team’s offices and canteen, reducing fuel consumption by approximately 60% and improving air quality. By using battery power instead of diesel, there was also less noise and air pollution

The project came in 4 weeks ahead of schedule included waterproofing reducing the need for future road works. It should help provide a longer lifespan of approximately 40 years reducing the likelihood even further.